Million
to-morrow, of what all this was going to lead to.

"Friday, this afternoon. I always had Fridays off. You'd better take
it," the new heiress said, with quite a new note of authority. "You can
pop out dreckly after lunch, and I shan't want you back again until it's
time for you to come and do me up for late dinner."

Miss Million dines in her room; but she is, as she puts it, "breakin' in
all her low-cut gowns while she's alone, so as to get accustomed to the
feel of it."

I looked at her.

I thought, "Why does she want me out of the way?"

For I couldn't help guessing that this was at the bottom of Miss
Million's offering her maid that afternoon out!

I said: "Oh, I don't think there's anywhere I want to go to, just yet."

"Better go, and have it settled, like. Makes it more convenient to you,
and more convenient to me, later on, if we know exactly how we stand
about your times off," said Million quite obstinately. "I shan't want
you after two this afternoon."

This she evidently meant quite literally.

I shall have to go, and to leave her to her own devices. I wonder what
they will be? Perhaps an orgy of more shopping, without me, buying all
the cerise atrocities that I wouldn't allow her to look at. Garments and
trimmings of cerise would be a pitfall to Miss Million but for her maid.
So would what she calls "a very sweet shade of healiotrope." Perhaps
it's worse than that, though. Perhaps she's having Mr. Burke to tea
again, and wishes to keep it from the maid who said such disapproving
things about him. I shall have to leave that, for the present.... I
shall just have to take this afternoon out.

I went out, wondering where I should go. My feet seemed of their own
accord to take me westwards, through Trafalgar Square and Pall Mall. I
walked along, seeing little of the sauntering summer crowds. My mind was
full of my own thoughts, my own frettings. I'd cut myself off from my
own people, and what was going to come of it? Not the glorious
independence I'd hoped for. No; a whole heap of new difficulties, and
anything but a free hand wherewith to cope with them!

I came out of this rather gloomy reflection to find myself in Bond
Street. That narrow, Aristocrat-of-all-the-Thoroughfares has seen a good
deal of Miss Million and her maid during the last couple of days. Not
much of a change for my afternoon off! I didn't want to do any more
shopping; in fact, I shan't be able to do any more shopping for